Internet Safety Questions

What article did you choose to read for your fourth article?
I read the "I Have a Question" article under the intenet link.

What were the most important things you learned from the readings?
The most important thing I learned was that there are 3 keys for protecting ourselves and our families from internet danger: • Parental awareness • Family rules • Filtering
I also learned in everything I saw and read that the internet is in fact a wonderful, valuable tool. We just need to be educated and to exercise self-control to use it safely.

How will what you have read influence your actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?
From what I read, I know that one very important thing I can do is to get familiar with the technology my students and children are using! If I am using the same things they are, they will not feel as much like it's a private, secret world they have created. I also learned the value of straightforward internet safety education, and I will be sure to have plenty of discussions with my students/children concerning the matter establishing groundrules.

How can you use what you have learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?
I can endorse technology and the internet to all my family and friends--particularly those who believe it is full of nothing but evil. Nothing could be farther from the truth; many individuals and groups, including general authorities, have praised the goodness that can be found in technology. I can explain that we simply need to know how to use it.

Internet Safety "Doing"

I instant messaged with my 13 year old sister about internet safety. As I looked for what her general safety level was like (we chatted on Facebook's instant messaging, and I had her check out her privacy levels on her account), I was surprised at how much she already knew! I then had her check out the netsmartz.org website and had her watch the video about cypergossip and the video called "Tracking Teresa." She enjoyed them both, and I think it was a beneficial and positive experience for both of us. Plus, instant messaging my little sister was so much fun! I think she really enjoys connecting with others with technology.

In-Class Presentations

The two best presentations used technology in a way that was engaging and informative for the students. One presentation used Google Earth with young children to help them understand the globe, and the students were absolutely encaptivated, especially as she used it to zoom in on their school. I was impressed by her connection from the core curriculum standard to the technology use. Another presentation also used GoogleEarth to take an entire grade (2nd) on a virtual tour. Again, I was impressed that she kept the entire grade engaged for 45 minutes. I think that the way she involved them in guessing which plants and animals might live at each of the 7 wonders was particularly creative and crossed content with technology very well. Great presentations!

Slideshow of Technology Lesson

Technology Lesson Slideshow

View more presentations from Mary Wade.

After looking at a classmate's powerpoint, I learned that even when a lesson is passive, pictures can still be used as a motivating factor to enhance lessons.

Tech Lesson

I taught my 1st graders a lesson called "Lucky Letters." In it, students were given several letters from which they were to create as many words as possible. This was a good writing exercise, as well as a good way to get the children thinking about forming words and spelling them correctly. I decided to use a powerpoint to give some examples of how we can form words together, as well as to give some examples/nonexamples. From the list of examples/nonexamples, students were asked to tell me which ones were nonsense words, and an animated X came on top of the nonsense words to affirm their answers. I ended up using the powerpoint for a little long for 1st graders, but overall, I think they had fun coming up with interesting words!

Technology Lesson Idea!

My first graders are currently working on becoming familiar with coins and adding them. I found an incredible website that would provides “emanipulatives,” including emanipulative coins and dollars. Students can drop coins into different groups, including two columns, part-part-whole, and 4 boxes. They can also click on a button that calculates the amount the boxes of coins are worth. This allows them to compare values of groups of coins, as well as gives them practice to become more familiar with coins. In my classroom, we don’t have computers available to students for individual practice, but we do have projectors that can be connected to laptops—this would be a great group activity as the teacher selects coins according to the students’ desires, and then questions them to predict, for example, how much each part of a part-part-whole problem is worth before revealing the answer, or to get students to try and find out which coins can be combined to create another value of coins. This would be extremely helpful for students who need extra practice with the coins. Here is the website! It includes other great emanipulatives! Enjoy!http://www.eduplace.com/kids/mw/manip/mn_k.html

Ancient Civilizations Virtual Tour

This might be easier to see as an actual post instead of a link on the side of my blog:
http://sites.google.com/site/ancientworldcivilizations/my-files

Technology Inventory

My first grade classroom is almost bereft of technology. The little-used overhead projector is the most high-tech thing in the room. They are allowed to go to the computer lab once a week for a little while. Technology is definitely not something that is part of their regular routine, and even if it was more available, I don't think it could be squeezed into their literacy/math packed schedules!

I honestly wonder if this lack of technology isn't better for those first graders. I have loved our tech. assignments we have had so far, but they seem to be more applicable/useful for older students, as well as for science, which is a subject 1st graders touch on only briefly throughout the week. These young students are still getting the hang of the whole school thing as it is, and throwing in technology that early may be overwhelming for them. There could be some occasional technology uses that would be nice to access, such as demonstrations on Google Earth, but these would be rare and time-consuming, since they would require a class trip to the computer lab, assuming it is available. I would love to hear appropriate, simple tech. uses in my classroom!

Virtual Tour TPACK

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?
6th Grade Social Studies Utah Standard 1, Objective 1:
a. Identify the major physical features of the regions where ancient civilizations flourished.
b. Describe how these features influenced the success or decline of the civilizations.

What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?
I will have my students use their observation skills as they follow my instructions for describing the geography of my four locations. They will also be using their writing skills as they are required to list, describe, or explain certain geographical features. They will also be required to make inferences from research they find, such as coming to conclusions about how certain geographical features helped or hindered certain civilizations. This is an excellent fit with my content, because it helps my students thoroughly explore the first two indicators of Objective 1--they must identfiy physical features through observation and exploring the links and they must describe as they read the content in the links and write about their conclusions.

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
I will be using Google Earth, as well as all kinds of links and images within Google Earth, for my students to explore. This is a great fit with the content and pedagogy because it gives my students the opportunity to explore first-hand what these civilizations looked like. The links give them a chance to do their own research and find answers to questions about how these civilizations survived. The technology gives my students the chance to really do social studies, which I believe will help them be more engaged and motivated in the pedagogy skills and content.

Virtual Tour Plan

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Ancient Olmec	Please list the main geographical landmarks (rivers, mountains, etc.) of this region and briefly describe how each could have helped or hindered the Olmecs. Layers to have turned on: Wikipedia & Panoramio under the Geographic Web layer	Within placemarker description: -image of an Olmec mask -link to wikipedia page about the Olmecs
2. Ancient Egypt	What was the main geographical feature of Ancient Egypt? Use the wiki-links and pictures to find out why it was important and how the ancient Egyptians used it. Layers to have turned on: Wikipedia & Panoramio & Borders under the Borders & Labels layer.	-Panoramio images; wiki links Within placemarker description: -image of the Nile -links to kid website about the Nile.
3. Ancient Mesopotamia	Briefly describe the geography of the region of Mesopotamia. Look at the links below and describe why Mesopotamia is called the Fertile Crescent and how the Mesopotamians used their resources and inventions to survive.Layers to have turned on: Wikipedia & Panoramio.	Within placemarker description: -image of a Mesopotamian mural -links to kids' websites about Mesopotamia
4. Ancient China	Why is China’s geography compared to a staircase with three steps? Name and describe those steps. Layers to have turned on: Terrain, Wikipedia & Panoramio under Geographic Web layer & Borders, Labels, and Country Names under the Borders & Labels layer.	Within placemarker description: -image of painting of Chinese landscape -link to kid website about Ancient China's geography
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	Image overlays will be used to outline the regions of Mesopotamia, Olmec, and Egypt.

Becoming A Rock Climber

Click here for the video on TeacherTube!

Storyboard Image & TPACK Questions

I'm doing a 6th grade-level documentary on becoming a rock climber. Here is my storyboard:






And here are my TPACK answers:

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?

The content is based on Utah's 6th grade Language Arts Standard 1, Objective 2, indicator 2, which involves developing language through presenting media.


What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

My pedagogy is a mini documentary writing project on how people become rock climbers. This is an excellent fit with the content because creating a documentary involves quite a bit of language development as students become familiar with all sorts of technical jargon. They will also be presenting this media, so that also covers the indicator of Standard 1, Objective 2.


What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
I will be using PhotoStory to put together the documentary. This is a good fit with the content because it is a specific way in which the students will get to present the documentary. It also fits well with the pedagogy because many movies are based on documentaries, and students will get to have some real application of making a documentary by actually turning it into a movie.

TPACK Questions

Content of my lesson: Utah 3rd grade Standard 1, Objective 1--students will describe the appearance of the earth and moon.

Pedagogy: incorportating the Scientific Inquiry abilities by using the KWL chart as a class and having student record their observations as they explore the programs. This is a good fit with my content because students are required to describe the appearance of the earth and moon, and by using the KWL chart and their own descriptions, the students get the opportunity to write down and then share those descriptions. The KWL chart also helps them see their own progress, which will help more effectively carry out scientific inquiries in the future.

Technology: Google Earth, Sky, & Moon. These tools are good fits with the content because they allow students to get a realistic idea of what the earth and moon look like. They also fit with the content because they give students the opportunity to explore and inquire individually. The programs let them see with their own eyes what the earth and moon look like, which allows students to follow use K-4 scientific inquiry abilities like gathering data and communicating their findings. (National Science Education Standards Handout: http://open.byu.edu/ipt287/files/2009/01/nces_handout.pdf)

The Tech Savvy Teacher

The subject of space is far too fascinating and boundless to limit it only to making solar system mobiles or looking at star-charts. This is especially true with the equally boundless technological resources we now have available. I have been recruited to write this article by the district to help educators better understand the great benefits of technology integration in the elementary science classroom. To do so, we will look at the following example of effective technology integration in an activity for Utah's 3rd grade science Standard 1, Objective 1 (describing the appearance of the Earth & moon).

As we teach science, we try to give our students a realistic education regarding their environment. However, as we are limited in time and resources, we often fall short in reaching this goal. In teaching about the appearance of the moon and earth, programs known as Google Earth, Google Sky, and Google Moon may help students gain a realistic impression. These programs allow users to explore actual satellite photos from space. Google Earth, which must be downloaded is most detailed, allowing users to zoom in as far as individual buildings, and to zoom out until the planet is only a speck among stars. It also allows users to pan around the entire surface of the earth. Google Moon, which is available online, is more limited in its panning and zooming abilities, but it has detailed descriptions and pictures wherever ships have landed. Google Sky, also available online, is most useful in getting a full scale picture of the moon so students can understand what its shape and general appearance from space.

Google Earth

Google Sky also allows users to view different planets, stars, and moons.

Google Moon has indepth photos both from the satellite and from astronauts during missions.

For the activity, the class would start by using a large class KWL chart (listing what we know, what we wonder, and what we learned), as the teacher facilitates by writing students’ ideas on the board. They would list what they knew and what they wondered about how the earth and moon look from space. The teacher would then let students explore Google Sky to look at the moon from its zoomed-out perspective, Google Moon for a closer perspective, and Google Earth (access to a computer lab is necessary, and it might be helpful to have these programs all up on each computer before the activity starts). The teacher should encourage students to use the panning and zooming tools so they can gain a thorough understanding of what things look like. Have them record their thoughts and observations. After students have finished exploring, gather together as a class again to find out what students learned and finish the KWL chart. Having students make their own observations and use the KWL chart encourages them to use the scientific inquiry abilities for grades K-4 such as asking questions about objects in the environment, conducting a simple investigation, using simple tools to gather data & extend the senses, use data to construct explanations, and communicating those explanations.

There are active icons and objects all over Google Sky on which users can click to find out some interesting facts and information.

This activity could be easily adapted into a full scale lesson plan with such ideas as creating a scavenger hunt for the students as they explore Google Earth, Moon, & Sky. It could also be expanded into lessons about various space missions, such as Apollo 13, since Google Sky is rich with actual pictures taken during different missions, maps of where they landed, and descriptive text. One other idea would be to use Google Sky to track daily satellite pictures of the moon in order to better understand moon phases. As you continue to search and utilize such technology in your lessons, you will help further the worlds of your students and become a “tech savvy teacher.”

TPACK is an interesting, and I believe accurate, way to connect important components of teaching to incorporate technology in the classroom. It both distinguishes knowledge a teacher must have into 3 distinct groups, content, pedagogy, and technology, and illustrates the relationships among them. I believe it can help teachers better understand the dynamics of their lesson plans, especially when they are learning to integrate technology in their classrooms. It is a good model teachers can reference as they seek, as the wiki TPACK website called it, "true technology integration." The ability to distinguish between each of the three groups and to use their relationships is also important for teachers so that when they develop their lesson plans, focused on certain objectives, they can clearly think about the different components they need to use and emphasize in the lesson. It is encouraging to think of teachers learning to identify all of their knowledge in the 3 different components of TPACK and to then to use their knowledge effectively as they try to integrate technology.

As for the science websites we explored, I am so excited about Google Sky! I already knew about Google Earth and have played with it many-a-time, but I had never heard of Google Sky! When I think about the educational values in using this program, my mind is flooding with exciting ideas for my students to explore space. What's absolutely marvelous to me is that the images are real, and so students can actual zoom in on Jupiter or various stars to see for themselves that they really do match up to what they've seen in storybooks. It is wonderful to give students "the big picture" of the grand scope of space as well. It will be so thrilling to develop lesson plans in which students can do things like scavenger hunts for different points in space, or report their observations of different locations or the distances between, or so many other things! I have been skeptical before about just how much the computers can provide elementary school students beyond special projects or regular word processing, but exploring these websites has opened my eyes to a world of more engaging, meaningful instruction.

RSS Feeds & Web 2.0

I am absolutely floored by the resources available to me on the internet! I had no idea of the existence of RSS feeds until this evening, and I'm astounded at what I can access easily! I'm also impressed by the innovation and progress of Web 2.0--it has become so sophisticated and user-friendly, connecting individuals and groups across the globe. Never has the world had so much information so accessible to the masses, and that information (and with it, power) is growing.

As a teacher, I am SO excited about the discovery of RSS feeds! I can be constantly updated on the things that are most important to me as an educator, such as new and useful lesson plans, important news on the education system in our country, and helpful classroom management/planning tools. The best part is, thanks to Web 2.0, I can consult online with teachers across the country about all of these things. This will save me so much time hunting for valuable ideas to keep up on the best classroom methods and on the latest professional information.

My Tech Background

Technology is not necessarily my main domain, but I have always managed to get along. My high school required us to take a technology course that gave me a solid foundation in the basic Microsoft Office tools, and this foundation has been expanded as I've worked as an office assistant for a professor. I have a knack for working search engines--I can almost always find exactly what I'm looking for very quickly. Much of my computer knowledge since high school has been attained through my own exploration and guess-and-check. So in a nutshell, I'm not what you'd call technologically saavy, but I've always managed to figure most things out. Happy birthday to this blog!